Orientation

Welcome

What is a Food System?

What is a Food Policy Council (FPC)?

o Stakeholders, Scope of FPC’s, Objectives

Introduction to Tarrant County Food Policy Council

o Members, Working Groups, General Council Meetings, Getting

Involved

Q & A

Sources

Links

To understand what a Food Policy Council does, first you need to know a little bit about food systems.

A food system includes all processes involved in keeping us fed: growing, harvesting, processing, packaging, transporting, marketing, consuming and disposing of food and food packages.

It also includes the inputs needed and outputs generated at each step. Each step is dependent on human resources that provide labor, research and education.

The food system operates within and is influenced by social, political, economic and natural environments.

There are two kinds of food systems to consider: Conventional and Community.

The Conventional (or Industrial) Food System:

The conventional food system is a good thing. It brings us Washington apples,

avocados from Mexico, New Zealand kiwi, grapes from Chile, coffee, chocolate,

bananas and more from all corners of the globe.

However, the conventional food system has gaps and weaknesses that have

been identified to contribute to the problems of hunger, obesity, soil erosion,

water contamination, loss of prime agricultural land, and a dwindling farmer

population.

The Community (or Local) Food System:

A community food system is one in which food production, processing,

distribution and consumption are integrated to enhance the environmental,

economic, social and health of a particular place, addressing the gaps and

weaknesses inherent in the conventional food system.

The concept of community food systems is sometimes used interchangeably

with "local" or "regional" food systems.

A community food system can refer to a relatively small area, such as a

neighborhood, or progressively larger areas - towns, cities, counties, regions, or

bioregions. This reflects an approach to building a food system, that holds

sustainability—economic, environmental and social—as a long-term goal.

Growing concerns about food deserts, obesity rates among children, dwindling farmer

population, environmental problems and other food system issues have sparked the

creation of Food Policy Councils (FPCs) in communities across the US.

FPC PURPOSE Food Policy Councils provide local, regional, or state governments with

resources and information to address food system challenges. Through policy

and programmatic strategies, FPC’s use a community-based approach to

ensure a healthy and sustainable food system.

A Food Policy Council aims to be:

Place-based

Ecologically sound

Economically productive

Socially cohesive

Food secure

Food literate

According to Mark Winne, co-founder of food and agriculture policy groups in Connecticut and New Mexico, the scope of Food Policy Councils generally include:

1. Identifying problems and creating problem statements for:

1. Access

2. Health

3. Loss of farmers and farmland

4. Sustainability (land, water, air quality)

5. Food security

2. Exploring policy solutions for each problem*

3. Exploring program solutions

*Councils make policy recommendations to policy makers

Cultivate partnerships among a community’s 5 food sectors

Production

Processing

Distribution

Consumption

Waste recovery

Convene meetings that draw diverse stakeholders

Research & analyze the existing conditions of a community’s

food system

Strategize solutions

Advocate for policy change

Communicate information about a community’s food

system to the public and community leaders

Develop programs that address gaps

To collaborate with representatives of

all aspects of Tarrant County's food system to

catalyze creative solutions for ensuring

equitable access to sufficient, nutritious, and

culturally appropriate foods, and to advocate

for local food policies that support this goal.

Our Mission

Board Members

o Executive Board

• Barbara Ewen--Chair

• Ann Salyer-Caldwell--Vice Chair

• Sherry Simon--Treasurer

• Connie Nahoolewa--Secretary

o Shannon Fletcher

o Lyn Dart

o Celia Krazit

o Micheline Hynes

o Dawnetta Smith

Organizational Members

o American College of Healthcare Executives

o City of Fort Worth

o Fort Worth ISD

o JPS Health Network

o Meals on Wheels, Inc. of Tarrant County

o Northside Inter-Community Agency (NICA)

o Senior Citizens Services of Tarrant County

o Southeast Fort Worth

o Tarrant Area Food Bank

o Tarrant County Commissioner Roy Brooks

o Tarrant County Public Health

o Texas Agrilife Extension Service

o Texas Christian University

o Texas Hunger Initiative

o The T (Fort Worth Transportation Authority)

o University of North Texas Health Science Center

o University of Texas at Arlington

o Westaid

Community Gardens & Urban Agriculture

Collaborative group that works to develop resources and programs related to community, school and backyard gardens. Additional efforts go toward urban agriculture initiatives.

Neighborhood Initiatives

This group works to identify and address gaps in local food resources. Through their efforts they were able to identify areas in Tarrant county that are described as being food deserts.

Research

This group works with other

working groups as well as

local civic leaders at all

levels to promote the

adoption of sounds food

policies recommended by

the Food Policy Council.

The full Council meets the first Thursday bi-monthly.

This gathering includes the board, working group leaders,

and community stakeholders.

Each meeting is a little different, but generally:

o Working group leaders provide progress reports on their activities

o Issues may be identified and discussed

o Presentations may be included on educational topics or that feature

other community groups with an interest in the food system

Interested in making good food more available in our community?

o TCFPC is seeking interested government and civic leaders, food system

stakeholders, corporate representatives, people familiar with food insecurity,

and concerned consumers to join us.

o We welcome all individuals interested in joining TCFPC. As a start, we

recommend visiting one of the working group meetings.

o For a schedule of working group and general councils meetings, or other

upcoming events view our Calendar of Events online.

Content for this presentation came from:

American Planning Association’s Brief on Food Policy Councils http://www.planning.org/nationalcenters/health/briefingpapers/foodcouncils.htm

Mark Winne Associates http://www.markwinne.com/

o “Doing Food Policy Councils Right”, Michael Burgan and Mark Winne, Mark Winne Associates [September 2012]

http://www.markwinne.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/FPC-manual.pdf

Nourish Curriculum Guide nourishlife.org/teach/curriculum

Tarrant County Food Policy Council’s website http://tarrantcountyfoodpolicycouncil.org/

Cornell University http://www.discoverfoodsys.cornell.edu/primer.html

For more information on what’s happening locally, visit us at Tarrantcountyfoodpolicycouncil.org.

We also recommend visiting these national thought leaders on food policy and community food security:

American Planning Association Planning.org

Center for Science in the Public Interest cspinet.org

Food Day foodday.org

Texas Hunger Initiative baylor.edu/texashunger

Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future jhsph.edu/research/centers-and-institutes/johns-hopkins-center-for-a-livable-future/projects/FPN